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this is probably one of the nerdiest entries I will ever write
but if you think anime is nerdy, don't let that scare you away. take this as an opportunity to open your mind and become addicted like me! haha
In all seriousness, I've had a lot of people tell me they've never seen anime before and have asked whats good and what they should watch.
So, here's my top ten reccommendations if you wanna expand outside the typical Sailor Moon and Pokemon in America.
Inuyasha's an excellent place to start. The dub definately does the original justice, so no subtitles for you lazy kids who don't like reading. The plot revolves around Kagome, a highschooler who falls into a well and is transported to an ancient time. She joins with Inuyasha, a half-demon to collect shards of a powerful jewel. (Inuyasha wants the jewel to turn him into a full demon while Kagome wants to stop it from falling into the wrong hands). They meet with plenty of interesting characters, my personal favorite being Miroku, a lecherous and perverted monk who's favorite pick up line includes asking a pretty girl to bear him a son.
There's romance and cutsie characters along with plenty of battle scenes and dark villians, so this series is good for both guys and girls to watch (we call that shounen/shoujo anime series).
Ranma 1/2 is also by Rumiko Takahashi (same creator ask Inuyasha). But if you're looking for a series with a good storyline, go somewhere else. While Inuyasha's series has a point, Ranma 1/2 doesn't. The main character, Ranma, falls into a cursed spring and now everytime he comes into contact with cold water, he turns into a girl, while hot water turns him back. (His girl transformations result in some unneccesary nudity at times...) Other characters end up with similar curses such as a panda, a cat, a goose, and a pig. The show is very funny with plenty of quirky characters such as Ukyo who's choice of weapon is a giant spatula, Shampoo the cutsie girl from the amazon, the cunning, blackmailing, money-obsessed Nabiki, and Ryoga the lost boy who cant even turn a corner without losing all sense of direction. Ranma is quite the ladies man, and ends up with about four fiancees who constantly fight over him. The series is extremely long and made up of random side plots and stange forms of matial arts battles, so if you don't have patience for watching a series from beginning to end, this is a great one to pick up and just watch an episode of two.
Speaking of Ladies Men, lets get to Tenchi Muyo. Tenchi Universe. Tenchi In Tokyo. all of these are different seasons of the series about a boy who ends up with seven girls from outer space in his home such as Ayeka the princess of the Planet Jurai, a Space Pirate wanted galaxy-wide named Ryoko, two Galaxy police Officers Mihoshi and Kiyone, little princess Sasami with her Cabbit (cat/Rabbit) Ryo-Ohki, and a mad scientist named Washu. I would say this is more girl orientied or Shoujo, though there are parts of the series that are more shounen and have pretty intesne battle scenes. Though i'd say half the fun of the series is rooting for your favorite female to win Tenchi's heart, and laughing at the hilarity of what fools they all make of themselves in the process.
A little less obvious of a ladies man is Keitaro from Love Hina (he's in my lj icon!) First off, I would ABSOLUTELY NOT reccommend this series to a first timer to anime, seeing as the series has a lot of nudity and can get extremely perverted. Love Hina is another very random series, but does have a point hiding behind all the chaos. Plus, the perversion just adds to the hilarity of the series.
Keitaro is your basic loser, living at home and failing his prep school trying to get into a top University to fulfill a childhood promise to a girl that he'd meet her there one day. yet, he cant even remember the girl's name or face. He ends up getting a job as manager of an all-girls dormitory where he gets picked on and beat up all the time. There's the shy Shinobu, violent Naru, sly and alcoholic Kitsune, hyperactive Kaolla, kendo master Matoko, and extremely ditzy Mitsune. The series follows the storyline of figuring out who Keitaro's promised girl is as he keeps trying to get into Tokyo University, falling in love and having others fall in love with him along the way. Very much a Shoujo anime, though guys would definiately find the perversion funny and entertaining as well.
So lets get the other Shoujo anime series out of the way. Ah! My Goddess has a storyline that gets right the the point, especially being that its only six episodes and one full length movie long. So this is another good one for those not wanting anything long. Keiichi accidently dials the goddess hotline and reaches the gorgeous goddess Belldandy, who agrees to grant him one wish. He wishes for a beautiful girlfriend just like her. She stays with him and the fall in t=love, thus provoking the arrival of her sisters Urd and Skuld who attempt to bring Belldandy back. Veery very cute series...extremely Shoujo seeing as all of the plot revolves around romance. So unless youre a male with hopless romantic characterists, I'd advice leaving this one for the ladies ;)
This is one of my absolute favorite series. Its a very long one, 72 episodes plus two movies, but so good. the character development is amazing, and the series caused me to cry at least at three different points. Also very shoujo and cutsie, but with clever humor and battles scenes to keep the guys at least halfway interested. Sakura is the cardcaptor who must capture and then convert all 52 cards of the clow. Her best friend Tomoyo (who loves Sakura maybe even a little too much...) follows her around with a video camera as her guardian beast of the clow (in the form of a stuffed animal), Kero aids her however he can. She's joined by Syaoran Li and his fiancee/cousin Meling Li to help capture the cards. Love, sillyness, fighting...everything. too much to cover. just....a great series.
NOTE: if you have seen American version Cardcaptors, you havent seen this series. its genius only exisits in the original, uncut, subtitled japanese version.
This is a difficult one to stomach. Not only have I only seen it because I buy bootleg copies (its not released in America) but the subtitles require quick reading being that the main character is dangerously hyper and is constantly breaking out into songs or rants all over the place. the plot is extremely stange. Sana is a child actor who's manager is her boyfriend (she calls him her pimp) at the beginning of the series. Her classroom has been overrun by the boys of the class and their leader, Hayama, leaving the teacher in tears every day as the boys toss around waterballoons filled with ink and just stir up trouble.
The series has many plots, but revolves mostly around Sana and Hayama's rivalry, taming of Hayama, and the friendship that grows out of rivalry as she finds out his problems at home and such
The series can be annoying at times, but is HILARIOUS and does have its deep moments.
Time for some Shounen anime. I'm a terrible person to write up a plot for this series because its been so long since I've seen it. Basically, Spike's group are a bunch of Space Cowboys who take on tons of interesting missions. The series can be funny, but is far from light hearted, dealing with death, separation, and inspiring outlooks on life. If you think anime is nerdy or silly, watch this series. You'll change your mind.
Another one of my favorites. Also shounen, but girls can definately enjoy this as well seeing as how Vash is a silly guy that just makes ya smile, and even crack up at times. Vash the Stampede has the reputaton of being a humanoid Typhoon, or some heartless man who tears through town destroying them to the ground. When in reality, he's never killed a single person. his motto is love and peace, and he touches those who come into contact with him such as the twisted traveling preist Wolfwood, and the insurance girls trailing Vash, Meryl and Millie. This series also gets less light hearted towards the end and definately made me bawl. the messages in the series are amazing, especially when learning about Vash's painful past.
I HIGHLY reccommend this series to anyone.
This is the series I'm watching right now, sicne I never finished it when I first watched it back in teh seventh grade. Its about two best friends who get transported to an ancient time through a book and become separted. one becomes the Preistess of Suzaku, the other of Seiryuu. In their seperation, they are turned against one another. Miaka sets out to gather her warriors, the Suzaku Seven, to summon Suzaku and wish herself back to her world as well as make this write with her ex-best friend Yui before she can summon Seiryuu. The show is for the most part light hearted and absolutely hilarious, though not a good series for a first timer to anime being that it does deal with rape, suicide, and depression. The characters in this series as well are just amazing, my favorite being Chichiri, the cheeful monk who hides his pain and scarred face behind a smiling mask. Another being Tasuki, a smart-alec and goofy bandit.
So there you have it. My top anime reccommendations. The best part? I have all of those series under my own roof!
Anyone wanna throw together an anime party? Im serious, popcorn, pizza, spaghetti...ramen? lots of things. My house. Anime. For hours. All of you are invited. now who wants to come?
but if you think anime is nerdy, don't let that scare you away. take this as an opportunity to open your mind and become addicted like me! haha
In all seriousness, I've had a lot of people tell me they've never seen anime before and have asked whats good and what they should watch.
So, here's my top ten reccommendations if you wanna expand outside the typical Sailor Moon and Pokemon in America.
Inuyasha's an excellent place to start. The dub definately does the original justice, so no subtitles for you lazy kids who don't like reading. The plot revolves around Kagome, a highschooler who falls into a well and is transported to an ancient time. She joins with Inuyasha, a half-demon to collect shards of a powerful jewel. (Inuyasha wants the jewel to turn him into a full demon while Kagome wants to stop it from falling into the wrong hands). They meet with plenty of interesting characters, my personal favorite being Miroku, a lecherous and perverted monk who's favorite pick up line includes asking a pretty girl to bear him a son.
There's romance and cutsie characters along with plenty of battle scenes and dark villians, so this series is good for both guys and girls to watch (we call that shounen/shoujo anime series).
Ranma 1/2 is also by Rumiko Takahashi (same creator ask Inuyasha). But if you're looking for a series with a good storyline, go somewhere else. While Inuyasha's series has a point, Ranma 1/2 doesn't. The main character, Ranma, falls into a cursed spring and now everytime he comes into contact with cold water, he turns into a girl, while hot water turns him back. (His girl transformations result in some unneccesary nudity at times...) Other characters end up with similar curses such as a panda, a cat, a goose, and a pig. The show is very funny with plenty of quirky characters such as Ukyo who's choice of weapon is a giant spatula, Shampoo the cutsie girl from the amazon, the cunning, blackmailing, money-obsessed Nabiki, and Ryoga the lost boy who cant even turn a corner without losing all sense of direction. Ranma is quite the ladies man, and ends up with about four fiancees who constantly fight over him. The series is extremely long and made up of random side plots and stange forms of matial arts battles, so if you don't have patience for watching a series from beginning to end, this is a great one to pick up and just watch an episode of two.
Speaking of Ladies Men, lets get to Tenchi Muyo. Tenchi Universe. Tenchi In Tokyo. all of these are different seasons of the series about a boy who ends up with seven girls from outer space in his home such as Ayeka the princess of the Planet Jurai, a Space Pirate wanted galaxy-wide named Ryoko, two Galaxy police Officers Mihoshi and Kiyone, little princess Sasami with her Cabbit (cat/Rabbit) Ryo-Ohki, and a mad scientist named Washu. I would say this is more girl orientied or Shoujo, though there are parts of the series that are more shounen and have pretty intesne battle scenes. Though i'd say half the fun of the series is rooting for your favorite female to win Tenchi's heart, and laughing at the hilarity of what fools they all make of themselves in the process.
A little less obvious of a ladies man is Keitaro from Love Hina (he's in my lj icon!) First off, I would ABSOLUTELY NOT reccommend this series to a first timer to anime, seeing as the series has a lot of nudity and can get extremely perverted. Love Hina is another very random series, but does have a point hiding behind all the chaos. Plus, the perversion just adds to the hilarity of the series.
Keitaro is your basic loser, living at home and failing his prep school trying to get into a top University to fulfill a childhood promise to a girl that he'd meet her there one day. yet, he cant even remember the girl's name or face. He ends up getting a job as manager of an all-girls dormitory where he gets picked on and beat up all the time. There's the shy Shinobu, violent Naru, sly and alcoholic Kitsune, hyperactive Kaolla, kendo master Matoko, and extremely ditzy Mitsune. The series follows the storyline of figuring out who Keitaro's promised girl is as he keeps trying to get into Tokyo University, falling in love and having others fall in love with him along the way. Very much a Shoujo anime, though guys would definiately find the perversion funny and entertaining as well.
So lets get the other Shoujo anime series out of the way. Ah! My Goddess has a storyline that gets right the the point, especially being that its only six episodes and one full length movie long. So this is another good one for those not wanting anything long. Keiichi accidently dials the goddess hotline and reaches the gorgeous goddess Belldandy, who agrees to grant him one wish. He wishes for a beautiful girlfriend just like her. She stays with him and the fall in t=love, thus provoking the arrival of her sisters Urd and Skuld who attempt to bring Belldandy back. Veery very cute series...extremely Shoujo seeing as all of the plot revolves around romance. So unless youre a male with hopless romantic characterists, I'd advice leaving this one for the ladies ;)
This is one of my absolute favorite series. Its a very long one, 72 episodes plus two movies, but so good. the character development is amazing, and the series caused me to cry at least at three different points. Also very shoujo and cutsie, but with clever humor and battles scenes to keep the guys at least halfway interested. Sakura is the cardcaptor who must capture and then convert all 52 cards of the clow. Her best friend Tomoyo (who loves Sakura maybe even a little too much...) follows her around with a video camera as her guardian beast of the clow (in the form of a stuffed animal), Kero aids her however he can. She's joined by Syaoran Li and his fiancee/cousin Meling Li to help capture the cards. Love, sillyness, fighting...everything. too much to cover. just....a great series.
NOTE: if you have seen American version Cardcaptors, you havent seen this series. its genius only exisits in the original, uncut, subtitled japanese version.
This is a difficult one to stomach. Not only have I only seen it because I buy bootleg copies (its not released in America) but the subtitles require quick reading being that the main character is dangerously hyper and is constantly breaking out into songs or rants all over the place. the plot is extremely stange. Sana is a child actor who's manager is her boyfriend (she calls him her pimp) at the beginning of the series. Her classroom has been overrun by the boys of the class and their leader, Hayama, leaving the teacher in tears every day as the boys toss around waterballoons filled with ink and just stir up trouble.
The series has many plots, but revolves mostly around Sana and Hayama's rivalry, taming of Hayama, and the friendship that grows out of rivalry as she finds out his problems at home and such
The series can be annoying at times, but is HILARIOUS and does have its deep moments.
Time for some Shounen anime. I'm a terrible person to write up a plot for this series because its been so long since I've seen it. Basically, Spike's group are a bunch of Space Cowboys who take on tons of interesting missions. The series can be funny, but is far from light hearted, dealing with death, separation, and inspiring outlooks on life. If you think anime is nerdy or silly, watch this series. You'll change your mind.
Another one of my favorites. Also shounen, but girls can definately enjoy this as well seeing as how Vash is a silly guy that just makes ya smile, and even crack up at times. Vash the Stampede has the reputaton of being a humanoid Typhoon, or some heartless man who tears through town destroying them to the ground. When in reality, he's never killed a single person. his motto is love and peace, and he touches those who come into contact with him such as the twisted traveling preist Wolfwood, and the insurance girls trailing Vash, Meryl and Millie. This series also gets less light hearted towards the end and definately made me bawl. the messages in the series are amazing, especially when learning about Vash's painful past.
I HIGHLY reccommend this series to anyone.
This is the series I'm watching right now, sicne I never finished it when I first watched it back in teh seventh grade. Its about two best friends who get transported to an ancient time through a book and become separted. one becomes the Preistess of Suzaku, the other of Seiryuu. In their seperation, they are turned against one another. Miaka sets out to gather her warriors, the Suzaku Seven, to summon Suzaku and wish herself back to her world as well as make this write with her ex-best friend Yui before she can summon Seiryuu. The show is for the most part light hearted and absolutely hilarious, though not a good series for a first timer to anime being that it does deal with rape, suicide, and depression. The characters in this series as well are just amazing, my favorite being Chichiri, the cheeful monk who hides his pain and scarred face behind a smiling mask. Another being Tasuki, a smart-alec and goofy bandit.
So there you have it. My top anime reccommendations. The best part? I have all of those series under my own roof!
Anyone wanna throw together an anime party? Im serious, popcorn, pizza, spaghetti...ramen? lots of things. My house. Anime. For hours. All of you are invited. now who wants to come?